Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

8:30 Introductions New members and old members engaged in an exercise to better integrate the committee. 8:45 Administrative reports: Don Beermann/Richard Reynnells Don Beermann indicated that the initial review of the NCR-131 as a funded committee had some positive feedback. Steps towards realization of the goal were discussed. Some of the project ideas need refinement, stated Don Beermann. Reporting the history of successful past and present collaboration was mentioned as necessary to facilitate a favorable review of the project. A summary of successful collaborative work should be prioritized. Richard Reynnells reported on the activities related to his office in Washington. He also offered to supply current information to NCR-131 members and collected addresses from the group. He also reminded the group about the potential for updating the compendium. He received very positive feedback in relation to the possible updating of the compendium. Richards efforts in bringing speakers to address animal welfare issues were praised. 9:15 Station reports: Stations represented presented brief reports. The target time for presentations was 10 minutes with some discussion allowed. The major focus of the retreat was to build partnerships in possible research projects associated with the committees goals hence the limited time for presentation. 10:45 Review NCR project goals; identify areas of investigation; needs; begin devising projects. The group determined that the best way forward was to select a limited number of subjective states and carry out in depth evaluation of research protocols across difference species using collaborative projects. Discussions about the different subjective states were conducted. Fear, pain, anxiety were among the subjective experience that are relevant to animal welfare, which were considered. After a thorough discussion the group decided that fear was the subjective experience with potential to reward the committee with favorable research outcomes. Species teams were divided to develop specific collaborative experiments and present experimental design for future experiments. The task for the small groups was to design the experiments, identify contributors, and describe procedures for evaluation of results. The decision was to focus on pigs, sheep, and poultry. 1:30 Project design group reports Review paper: General issues associated with the use of tests to assess subjective experience in domestic animal species were discussed. It was deemed important to effectively capture the existing literature by preparing a review paper addressing the measurement of in different animal species. The group decided to focus the research questions using one gender per species to facilitate the use of animals in the different stations having enough animals to create valid replicates. Ewes, barrows, and hens were the animals chosen for investigation. The group considered development 2 tests for each species address different aspects of the fear response. Criteria mentioned to validate the tests was the consistency the observed responses (e.g. is an animal responding the same way Monday versus Thursday). The need for a review paper was again emphasized. Several questions are likely to be responded by a review paper. Two main items were fear responses may compromise animal welfare are during the interactions with humans and when animals respond to novel circumstances. Feb 12 9:00 Business meeting: elect officers Joe Garner was elected secretary for the 2005-2006 period The next meeting of the NCR-131 was discussed. Potential locations for the annual meeting included Michigan, Bristol (in conjunction with the International Society for Applied Ethology Conference) or Vancouver (in conjunction with the North-American meeting of the International Society for Applied Ethology). Vancouver was selected as the place for the 2006 meeting and Adroaldo Zanella was asked to contact Dan Weary to organize the meeting. Don Beermann indicated that the CRIS reports from individual stations should reflect the objectives described by the Applied Animal Behavior Committee. Richard Reynnells proposed that animal welfare should be added to the title of the committee. Richard motion was approved unanimously and the committee is now named Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. The issue of organizing a meeting in Cincinnati was discussed and approved. Conference calls will be scheduled to follow up the committees assignments. Every station is responsible for obtaining an approved animal use protocol on their particular campus. The inclusion of members from non-American Institutions in the committee was discussed. One example is the membership of Derek Haley, currently working for Alberta Farm Animal Care as an extension specialist. Richard Reynnells initiated a discussion regarding potential criteria to invite future members. Don Beermann reminded the group that the committee was not officially approved, hence the attempt to find new member should wait. An idea to prepare a poster to be displayed in meetings to get visibility to the committee was viewed favorably. Zanella will put together a display for the Animal Well-Being Symposium at the ASAS-Cincinnati. Derek Haley proposed that links to the NCR  131 committee web site should be added to the ISAE web site. The committee rejected the proposal to divide its efforts among the different societies (e.g. poultry science, animal science, dairy science). The consensus is that our committee will better serve science and society working together in different organizations. Don Beermann recognized that it would be premature to think about dividing the committee in different species group. A vote was taken approving the motion that stations, which fail to attend two meeting in succession, will be asked to leave the committee. Zanella was elected president for the 2005-2006 period. The business meeting was closed. 9:30- 2:45 Review progress from day 1 and continue working on project designs and time-lines 2:45 Report back; summarize goals The initial discussion was followed by an in-depth group discussion exploring potential protocols to assess fear in different domestic animal species. Groups were formed to discuss pigs, poultry, sheep and goats and cattle. The following scientists were recognized as potential contributors for future research work, Pigs: Anna Johnson, Ed Pajor, Joe Garner, Ruth Newberry, Ted Friend, Suzanne Millman Cattle/Sheep: Ted Friend, Brad Imwalle, Ed Pajor, Joe Garner, Adroaldo Zanella, Candace Croney Chickens, broilers, quail, layers, turkeys: Bruce Webster, Hart, Ed Pajor, Joe Garner, Ruth Newberry, Joy Mench, Derek , Adroaldo Zanella, Inma Estevez Ducks: Donald Lay, Jeremy Marchant-Forde, Susan Eichert, Heng-Wei Cheng. The team determined that sheep, pigs, and poultry were subjected to handling, loading, and exposure to novel environments. The working hypothesis is that the behaviors indicative of fear are known and recognizable. Questions were raised to determine the type of research that has already been carried out in particular the treatments applied to induce fear in pigs, sheep and poultry. Approach test, Novel object, Open-field, Back test, and Startle are used in the three species, with some kind of modification.The groups reported on the proposed methodology for future experiments. Next Steps action items: a) The video analysis of the different projects should be divided; it will lend objectivity to the tests. For example: Film at site A, save files, analysis by all sites, validate for inter-reliability. During the phone conferences we will define the standard protocols. If possible we should use each animal as its own control at each specific site. The committee also encouraged the development of pilot studies to further refine the methodology. b) General: For each species: 1)Establish pilot study protocol, 2)Goal:3 station locations per species for final tests, 3)Any station participating must follow identical protocol. Currently four stations working on poultry and pigs-Each station within a species does a pilot:split the work. Delegated recorder for all species:Swine  Don Lay, Poultry  Joe Garner, Sheep  Brad Imwalle. All species groups have individual calls to work out milestones, details, and timelines. Respectfully submitted AJZanella

Hart Bailey (Mississippi State University) indicated that his activities are related to quality assurance and food safety. He is in charge of teaching an animal welfare course to veterinary students. Zanella indicated that MSU has two Higher Education Challenge Grants to develop animal welfare teaching modules. One of the grants targets veterinarians. Candace Croney (Oregon State University) presented the summary of her work. The influence of flooring on the occurrence of lameness in elephants was addressed by a graduate student supervised by Candace Croney. She also shared her research looking at the relationship between environmental enrichment and cognition in domestic animals. David Sheperdson, Oregon Zoo, who collaborates extensively with Candace presented some information related to his work on environmental enrichment in zoo animals. Jeremy Marchant-Forde (USDA-ARS) described the extensive research on an alternative beta-blocker that did not show observable changes in behavior as was reported previously using a commercial product. Jeremy also presented information on the work of Heng-Wei Cheng on impact of beak trimming on welfare indicators. He shared some of Susan Eichers results on dairy cattle welfare and also presented data on the impact of pre-natal stress on indicators of poor welfare, work carried out by Don Lay. Ted Friend (Texas A & M) presented information on design of drinkers for horses to be used during transportation. He presented data using markers of humoral immunity during different protocols used to transport horses. He also shared information on his continuing work assessing welfare of zoo animals. Derek Haley (Alberta Agriculture) presented his work focusing primarily on animal welfare extension. He discussed practical aspects of his interactions with different segments of Canadian animal industry. Brad Imwalle (Rutgers University) presented some of his work assessing the relationship between endocrine manipulation using reproductive hormones and some aspects of cognitive performance in sheep. Ruth Newberry (Washington State University) described her activities looking at markers of pain in cats subjected to de-clawing . She also presented some of her collaborative working exploring issues related to cannibalism in chickens. Ed Pajor (Purdue University) presented his research work looking at the impact of mixing pigs at an early-age on subsequent aggression. He also presented partial results on the study looking at preferences expressed by sows in relation to housing conditions. Bruce Webster (University of Georgia) discussed some of his work on bird welfare, primarily looking at stunning techniques. He also indicated that he has been providing support to commercial companies interested in practical application of animal welfare science. Adroaldo J. Zanella presented a brief overview of the animal welfare/assessment competition. He also presented data on indicators of pain in lame dairy cows. Zanella reported that early-weaned pigs when socially isolated showed memory impairments and changes in stress related genes in the hippocampus and frontal cortex.

Indiana Station Smith, G., T. Grandin, T. Friend, D.C. Lay Jr., and J. Swanson. 2005. A compilation of research literature and best practices information related to animal welfare concerns in land transport of animals. World Organization for Animal Health Scientific and Technical Review. Toscano, M., and D.C. Lay Jr. 2005. Parsing the characteristics of a simulated udder to determine relative attractiveness to piglets in the 72 h following parturition. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 92:283-291. Koch, J.M., J. Moritz, D.C. Lay Jr., and M. Wilson. 2005. Melengestrol Acetate in Experimental Diets as an Effective Alternative to Induce a Decline in Egg Production and Reversible Regression of the Reproductive Tract in Laying Hens 1. Determining an Effective Concentration of Melengestrol Acetate. Poultry Science. 84:1750-1756. Garner, J.P. 2005. Stereotypies and other Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors: potential impact on validity, reliability, and replicability of scientific outcomes. ILAR Journal 46(2): 106-117. Marchant-Forde, R.M., Marlin, D.J. and Marchant-Forde, J.N. (2004) Validation of a cardiac monitor for measuring heart rate variability in adult female pigs: accuracy, artefacts, and editing. Physiology & Behavior, 80: 449-458. Marchant-Forde, R.M. and Marchant-Forde, J.N. (2004) Pregnancy-related changes in behavior and cardiac activity in primiparous pigs. Physiology & Behavior, 82: 815-825 Marchant-Forde, J.N. and Marchant-Forde, R.M. (2005) Methods to reduce aggression at mixing in swine. Invited review  Pig News & Information, 26: 63N-73N. Indiana and California Stations Shields, S.J., J.P. Garner and J.A. Mench. 2005. Effect of sand and wood shavings bedding on the behavior of broiler chickens. Poultry Science 84(12): 1816-1824. Miller, K.A., J.P. Garner, and J.A. Mench. 2005. The test-retest reliability of four behavioural tests of fearfulness for quail: a critical evaluation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 92(1-2): 113-127. Chu, L., J.P. Garner, and J.A. Mench. 2004. A behavioral comparison of New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) housed individually or in pairs in standard laboratory cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science Vol 85(1-2): 121-139. Garner, J.P., S.M. Weisker, B. Dufour, and J.A. Mench. 2004. Barbering (fur and whisker trimming) by laboratory mice as a model of human trichotillomania and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. Comparative Medicine 54(2): 216-224. Garner, J.P., B. Dufour, L.E. Gregg, S.M. Weisker, and J.A. Mench. 2004. Social and husbandry factors affecting the prevalence and severity of barbering ('whisker trimming') in laboratory mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 89(3-4): 263-282. Meehan, C.L., J.P. Garner, and J.A. Mench. 2004. Environmental enrichment and cage stereotypy in Orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica): insights into developmental processes. Developmental Psychobiology 44: 209-218. Shields, S.J., J.P. Garner, and J.A. Mench. 2004. Dustbathing by broiler chickens: a comparison of preference for four different substrates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 87(1-2): 69-82. Miller, K.A., J.P. Garner, and J.A. Mench. Is fearfulness a stable and consistent trait that is measurable using behavioural tests? Animal Behaviour (in press). Michigan Station Yuan, Y.; Jansen, J.; Charles, D. and Zanella, A.J. (2004) The influence of weaning age on post-mixing agonistic interactions in growing pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 88:39-6. Broom, D.M. & Zanella, A.J. (2004) Brain measures which tell us about animal welfare. Animal Welfare, 13:41-46. Dembiec, D.P.; Snider, R. and Zanella, A.J. (2004) The effects of transport stress on tiger physiology and behavior. Zoo Biology 23:335-46. Heleski, C.; Mertig, A.; and Zanella, A.J. (2004) Assessing attitudes toward farm animal welfare: a national survey of animal science faculty members. J. Anim. Sci. 82:2806-814. Moons, C., Laughlin, K., Zanella, A.J. (2005) Effects of short-term maternal separations on weaning stress in foals. Applied Animal Behavior Science 91:321-335. Heleski, C.; Mertig, A.; and Zanella A.J. (2005) Results of a national survey of US veterinary college faculty regarding attitudes toward farm animal welfare. JAVMA Vol. 226 (9), 1538-1546. Siegford J.M.,;Bernardo, T.M.; Malinowski, R.P.,;Laughlin, K. Zanella, AJ. Integrating animal welfare into veterinary education: using an on-line, interactive course. J Vet Med Educ. 2005 Winter;32(4):497-504. Nebraska Station Gaughan, J. B., M. S. Davis and T. L. Mader. 2004. Wetting and the physiological responses of grain fed cattle in a heated environment. Aust. J. of Agric. Res. 55:1-8. Holt, S. M., J. B. Gaughan, and T. L. Mader. 2004. Feeding strategies for grain fed cattle reared in a hot environment. Aust. J. of Agric. Res. 55:719-725. Mader, T. L. and M. S. Davis. 2004. Effect of management strategies on reducing heat stress of feedlot cattle: feed and water intake. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 3077-3087. Brown-Brandl, T. M., R. A. Eigenberg, G. L. Hahn, J. A. Nienaber, T. L. Mader, D. E. Spiers, and A. M. Parkhurst. 2005. Analyses of thermoregulatory responses of feeder cattle exposed to simulated heat waves. Int. J. Biometeorol. 49:285-296. Mader, T. L., M. S. Davis, and W. M. Kreikemeier. 2005. Case study: Tympanic temperature and behavior associated with moving feedlot cattle. Prof. Anim. Sci. 21:339-344. New Jersey Station- Cook College, Rutgers University Imwalle, D.B. and L.S. Katz. 2004. Divergent roles for estrogens and androgens in expression of female goat sexual behavior. Hormones and Behavior 46: 54-58. Imwalle, D.B. and L.S. Katz. 2004. Development of sexual behavior over several serving capacity tests in male goats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 89:315-319. Imwalle, D.B., Gustafsson, J-Å, and Rissman, E.F. Lack of functional estrogen receptor beta influences anxiety behavior and serotonin content in female mice. Physiology and Behavior 2005; 84: 157-163. Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON,Canada Millman, S.T., Duncan, I.J.H., Stauffacher, M., Stookey, J.M., 2004. The impact of applied ethologists and the International Society for Applied Ethology in improving animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 86:299-311. Zurbrigg, K., Kelton, K., Anderson, N., Millman, S., 2005. Tie-stall design and its relationship to lameness, injury and cleanliness on 317 Ontario dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science, 88:3201-3210. Texas Station Krawczel, P.D., T.H. Friend and A. Windom. 2005. Effects of performance on stereotypic behavior in circus tigers. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 95:189-198. Williams, J. L., T. H. Friend, C. H. Nevill, and G. Archer. 2004. The efficacy of a secondary reinforcer (clicker) during acquisition and extinction of an operant task in horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.88:331-341. Nevill, C. H., T. H. Friend and M. J. Toscano. 2004. Survey of transport environments of circus tiger (Panthera Tigris) acts. J. Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 35:167-174. Washington Station Cloutier S, RC Newberry and K Honda. 2004. Comparison of social ranks based on worm-running and aggressive behaviour in young domestic fowl. Behavioural Processes 65:79-86. Yngvesson J, LJ Keeling and RC Newberry. 2004. Individual production differences do not explain cannibalistic behaviour in laying hens. British Poultry Science 45:453-462. Newberry RC. 2004. Cannibalism. pp. 239-258. In: Welfare of the Laying Hen. Ed. by G.C. Perry, CABI Publishing, Wallingford UK. Cloutier S, RC Newberry, AJ Cambridge and KM Tobias. 2005. Behavioral signs of postoperative pain in cats following onychectomy or tenectomy surgery. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 92, 325-335.